NATURE VS. NURTURE

HEREDITY Transmission of characteristics from

parents to offspring Plays a key role in the development of

traits Height, eye color, etc. Could be involved in many

psychological disorders:DepressionSchizophreniaBipolar disorderAlcoholism

GENES AND CHROMOSOMES Genes- basic building blocks of heredity

Determined by pairs- one gene from each parent

Chromosomes Made up of genesMost normal human cells contain 46

chromosomes When this does occur- a disability may occur Down syndrome occurs when there is an extra

chromosome on the 21st pair 22 of the 23 pairs for male and female are the

same The 23rd pair will determine whether we are male or

female

NATURE-NURTURE DEBATE Nature- refers to what people inherit

from their parents Nurture- refers to a variety of factors

such as education, culture, living conditions

Debate over which (nature or nurture) has a greater impact on the kind of person that you become

KINSHIP STUDIES Twin Studies- used to determine how

much genetics determine who we are Identical twins share the same genetic

makeup, so differences must be caused by the environment (nurture)

Fraternal twins only share some of their genes so differences could be caused by genetics or the environment

Identical twins are more likely to share disorders such as autism, substance abuse, and schizophrenia

The problem with twin studies is that they grow up together and therefore, have the same genes but also the same environment

IDENTICAL TWINS Share the same genes and environment

FRATERNAL TWINS A million to one odds: one black baby and one white

NATURE VS. NURTURE DEBATE Questions to think about:

How are differences in intelligence, personality, and psychological disorders influenced by heredity and environment?

Is sexual orientation biologically predisposed or learned?

Should we treat depression as a disorder of the brain or a disorder of thought or both?